NewsDesk @bactiman63

Brazil has 813 confirmed cases of monkeypox,  according to data from the Ministry of Health. On Tuesday,  the technical leader of the World Health Organization (WHO) for the disease, Rosamund Lewis, said that the situation in the country “is very worrying” and that cases may be underreported because there are not enough tests available.

Image/Robert Herriman

“It is important that the authorities also take cognizance of the public health emergency and of international interest, the recommendations and take the appropriate measures”, he declared. She also said the outbreak can be stopped with “the right strategies in the right groups”. “But time is ticking and we all need to come together to make this happen,” she added.

On Saturday, the director-general of the WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, announced that monkeypox constitutes a public health emergency of international concern . “We have an outbreak that has spread rapidly around the world, through new forms of transmission, about which we understand very little, and which fits the criteria of the International Health Regulations,” he said.

The Ministry of Health highlighted, through a note, that the disease is a priority for the ministry, which constantly monitors and analyzes the epidemiological situation to define guidelines and actions for surveillance and response to the disease in the country. “All the measures announced today by the World Health Organization (WHO) have already been carried out by Brazil since the beginning of July in order to carry out a timely surveillance of the disease”, says the text.

The agency also pointed out that, even before the confirmation of cases in Brazil, “a situation room was installed to prepare an action plan with the objective of establishing states and municipalities on the best way to serve the population”. Also according to the ministry, “diagnostic tests are available for the entire population that meets the definition of suspected cases of monkeypox”.

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On Saturday, the ministry informed that it is articulating with the WHO the acquisition of the vaccine against the disease . In a note, the Ministry of Health said that negotiations are being carried out globally with the manufacturer to expand access to the immunizing agent for countries with confirmed cases.

In Brazil, the largest number of cases is in São Paulo, with 595 confirmed infections. In Rio de Janeiro, there are 109 people with the disease, followed by: Minas Gerais (42), Federal District (13), Paraná (19), Goiás (16), Bahia (3), Ceará (2), Rio Grande do Sul (3), Rio Grande do Norte (2), Espírito Santo (2), Pernambuco (3), Mato Grosso do Sul (1) and Santa Catarina (3).